The terms “Flogging a dead horse” and “Success is only just around the corner” spring to mind when talking about this concept, articulated by Eric Ries in his New York bestseller “The Lean Startup”.

In your business as well as your everyday life, how do you know when to “give up”? Or, if you do change direction or quit, were you JUST about to make that breakthrough or success you worked so hard for? What if you are achieving moderate success and therefore if you quit it would prove embarrassing or would lose you the moderate income you are used to. What if, on the surface, you are highly successful, but actually you are unhappy, stressed and working 60 hours per week just to keep the ‘success’ going.

When do you Pivot? And when do you Persevere?

What does it mean to pivot? To pivot is to change direction, drop something that isn’t working, and take one area or your whole business in a different direction. Most of the time you would take some of the past version with you. Sometimes you lose the past version altogether.

A great example is a tech company started by Dan Carroll, a well-known name in silicon valley, in 2007. In it’s original form it was called “kaChing” and was a online “fantasy league” for amateur investors, designed to spot good investors. They built a sophisticated system, but customers found the concept confusing and didn’t buy in. The team decided they couldn’t persevere as it existed and decided to celebrate what had been achieved up to this date, but make a pivot. They abandoned the gaming concept and instead focused on creating a platform for amateur investors. On the surface, the pivot seemed quite dramatic, a new company name, new branding and discarding a lot of the system that they had built, but underneath a surprising amount stayed the same. What worked in the system became the core that everything new was built around. The company (now called Wealthfront) is now a leader in the field.

If the team hadn’t had started in the first place they would never have had the knowledge and core system that they then built upon.

Another example in The Lean Startup is the online Voters platform Votizen. It took 4 huge pivots to drag it to the success that founder and CEO David Binetti had visioned, each pivot building on the previous versions successes.

The interesting fact is that, every time he decided to pivot, it took less time than his last pivot. Of the 4 major pivots, the first took 12 months, the second six months, the third took four months and the last pivot took only a month to put into place.

This can be attributed to 2 things. Firstly, the structure and business allowed for a pivot and adapted easier each time. Each change built upon the things that were great about the business and discarded the things that didn’t work. With each pivot there was less to discard and more opportunity to build on what worked.

The second observation is that, the decisions became easier to make, as the decision to pivot had been made previously. The team even brought the ‘pivot or persevere’ concept into their strategic meetings, something that Eric Reis recommends that every business do.

To persevere?
The dictionary’s definition of perseverance is “doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success”.

A client of mine regularly pivots in her business and on reflection feels that she may have recently made too many. She feels compelled to pivot as she is haunted by the alternative of persevering.

Her dad had a 30-year career working for the same company, with the promise of becoming the first person ever to go from being the apprentice to a director in the 100 year history of the company. After years of blood sweat and tears his final promotion was due. He prepared to become director and enjoy has last years with the company before retiring. The board of directors then decided to promote the boss’s son instead. His hopes, as well as his pride was completely crushed and my client is haunted by the memory of the only time she’d ever seen him break down in tears.

Years of persevering did not bring him to where he wanted to be and the worst thing was that he had no control over the future he’d planned for himself.

What happened to him didn’t have to force him to make a pivot in his life; he could have continued to work for that company. Maybe he might have eventually got the directors role that he was promised. But the pivot he made took his life in a better direction than he could ever have imagined.

An entrepreneur approached him to work as partners. With his engineering background and keen project management skills they start a competing firm. I’m sure you will agree that someone that has been an employee for 30 years starting a business of his own is completely daunting, but he partnered up with the right person. He pivoted at completely the right time, not through choice but nevertheless formed part of the team that, after a couple of pivots of their own, built a company that now turns over in excess of £2million per year. He now has the directorship that he wanted and even better, is working hard for his own company, not someone else’s.

The unplanned pivot was the best thing that could have happened to him. How did this happen? Because his new partner heard that he hadn’t got a promotion and saw it as a perfect time to approach him. This is a perfect example of taking what is good from the previous version and leaving behind what didn’t work, which in his case was the company itself!

How does this translate into our personal success? I’d like you to take these 2 steps, in your personal or business life if you like. Take 10 minutes to think about your answers, write them down and build your findings into your plan for success. Just by being aware, will set your subconscious mind the task of resolving any issues holding you back.

1. Are you a pivot-er or a persevere-er?
Take a moment to think about some pivots and perseverance’s that have led you closer to success, or away from success. Think about how you could have changes your thinking to get a better outcome.

[A classic perseverance is staying in a marriage for too long, out of fear that you will be more unhappy out of it that you are miserable in it!]

I’d like you to think about your life or business, what’s holding you back from that next step of success. What is stopping you? Is it your thinking? What’s the ‘barrier’? Did something spring into your mind while reading this article? That’s probably what your unconscious mind needs to be analysed further.

2. Write down 2 things that are holding you back you right now and then ask yourself the question – Pivot or Persevere?

What we can take from this silicon valley concept:

1. If we want to do something, we need to make a start. Imperfect action will teach you more than no action ever will.

2. It’s not a failure if we have strategically decided to pivot! Start making the changes needed and each time it will be less painful and achieve more in less time.

3. Its ok to pivot and its equally ok to persevere, we just need to know our reasons for doing so.

We have recently introduced our monthly priced packages for our Social Media Management, Content Marketing and WordPress Blog / Website Design Packages, which can be found here.

We have designed these packages to be as flexible as possible, and clearly show exactly what we do, and how we can benefit you and your business!

The packages are created for you to pick and choose the services you would like to receive, and at what quantity. For example, if you were to pick one of our Social Media Management packages, it is easy for you to add Content Marketing to the package at any time, simply at a small extra cost.

The packages are all priced monthly, with our Social Media Management and Content Marketing additionally separated into Bronze, Silver or Gold Packages. The Bronze Package would give you the minimum amount of management, leading up to the Gold Package, which would give you the maximum amount of complete management for either your Social Media or Content Marketing.

Platinum Package

There is also our additional package, which is the Platinum Package. Our Platinum Package differs slightly because it covers all three of the ways we can help you Digitally Market your business: Social Media Management, Content Marketing and WordPress Blog / Website Design.

We strongly suggest our Platinum Package if you are a business starting out, as we can really boost your online presence and consumer base, as well as creating a Blog and Website for your new business.

Also, the Platinum Package would include every Social Media Channel you would like to be managed, as well as our maximum Content Marketing and Blog Creation every month. It is an absolute value for money, as it provides you with everything you could possibly need to enhance your business.

We can make our Platinum Package bespoke to you, suiting all of your business’ needs and brand values.

However, if you would like to purchase the packages separately, here is a breakdown of the three different packages and how we will benefit you and your business!

Social Media Management Packages

Our Social Media Management Packages are separated into our Bronze, Silver or Gold Packages, as well as being included in the overall Platinum Package. However, we also include our Starter Package for Social Media Management, which acts as an introduction to the Social Media Management we offer.

So, from as little as £49 a month, you can receive our Starter Social Media Management Package, and witness how we can improve your business’ online presence initially. Our Starter Package only covers Facebook and Twitter, as we would consider these the two predominant Social Media Channels. It will give you a taster about how we can boost your business’ Facebook and Twitter usage.

After our Starter Package, we can then expand into our Bronze, Silver and Gold Packages. Our Bronze and Silver Packages allow you to choose 3 Social Media Channels for us to manage, although the Bronze would give you minimum coverage and the Silver would give you extra. Then, our Gold Package allows you to choose 4 Social Media Channels, and we will manage them all fully and maintain a constant presence for your business, expanding your consumer base thoroughly.

These packages are priced monthly, although in this price you will receive weekly attention to your Social Media. This is why we have broken down our Social Media Management services into weekly tables, so you can easily see exactly what we will do for your business week-to-week. For example, if you were interested in Facebook Management, we have broken down exactly how many updates you will achieve per week through the separate monthly packages, depending on whether you choose this channel via our Starter, Bronze, Silver or Gold Package.

We are highly experienced in Social Media Management, and know how to expand your brand, consumer base, and make your business succeed online. We offer a wide variety of Social Media Channels that you may be interested in, from the obvious Facebook to the more unique Vine. We can handle any Social Media Channel of your choice, and we have broken down each Channel into tables so you can witness how we can use them to enhance your business.

Check out our Social Media Services here for a fully comprehensive breakdown of what each Social Media Channel offers your business.

Additionally, if you were wondering about the exact benefits of Social Media Marketing, check out our article here.

Content Marketing

Our Content Marketing Packages are also separated into Bronze, Silver and Gold Package options. We outline exactly what we will do for your business monthly, including Targeted Marketing Campaigns and monthly SEO for your online presence, as well as blog creation and written blog articles relating to your business.

It is also possible for us to maintain and manage your website and WordPress blog, if you were to acquire our Gold Package. However, for all three packages we offer written blog articles, however we can offer you a greater quantity of material in our larger packages.

For all three Bronze, Silver and Gold Packages, we will handle your SEO and Online PR to a varied extent. We also offer monthly reports from Google Analytics statistics. This will reveal how well your website is doing and how much traffic your business is generating, as well as showing how your consumers and website visitors are acting on your site, including the pages and features that resonate with your audience.

If you were wondering how Content Marketing works and how it will benefit your business, take a look at our article here for more information.

WordPress Blog and Website Design Services

The services we can offer you towards your blog and website design vary slightly to the monthly packages of the other two, mainly because we don’t offer separate Bronze, Silver or Gold options.

However, this is mainly due to the fact that many of these services come as one-off costs. For example, we can create a WordPress blog or Landing Page for your business, which would start at a one-off guideline cost. We can also offer services such as banner or header designs, either for your WordPress Blog, Website, or any Social Media Channel.

As part of these services, we also offer you the opportunity to manage your WordPress Blog or Website, separately from our Content Marketing. These prices would start at approximately £49 per month, although would vary depending on the amount of management required. Also, we offer our blog article and content creation at a separate cost, at the guideline price of £28 per 1000 words. Additionally, we can also offer proofreading and editing services, if you would like us to check your blog article content, for only £16 per 1000 words.

We would like our services to be as flexible as you would like, and if you would like to receive an individual service outside of the entire package, that is fully available.

Check out our WordPress Blog Creation and Management page here, explaining exactly how this will help and boost your business.

Also, if you were wondering how blogging helps your business, and truly boosts your Search Engine Optimisation, then take a read of our article here.

Pricing

Our prices for each package are additional to our other packages, however if you would like to combine any of our three Digital Marketing Services, we can offer you discounted prices. For example, if you would like to combine our Social Media Management and Content Marketing services, then we can offer you a combined price point, depending on the quantity of services you would like.

Also, if you would like to receive individual services outside of the full packages, then that is available. We would be able to agree on a bespoke quantity and level of services for your business, and quote you a guideline price for these services. Please don’t hesitate to contact us directly about any prices or options for tailoring our Digital Marketing Services.

The full breakdown of our services can be found in our Price Packages here. Also, take a look at our comprehensive breakdown of our services and how each channel and option can benefit your business here.

Please contact us today to speak to us and arrange any of the packages. We look forward to hearing from you!

Content Marketing is not about advertising. In some ways, it is not even about marketing as viewed in the traditional sense. Consumers have long since shut down to traditional forms of marketing, including standard advertising. For example: Sky+ services to skip adverts, magazines are becoming more widely read online, and online users are becoming adept at simply glossing over things like banner ads, and there is always AdBlock. This means it has become more difficult than ever for a business or product to grab a consumer’s attention, both online and in traditional publications and advertising.

However, this doesn’t mean that all is lost for advertising and marketing. With these changes, there have been great advancements in the online world of marketing, known as digital marketing. For example, the use of social media has become so widespread, that Social Media Marketing has become one of the main ways to reach your desired audience effectively. (Read more about our definition of Social Media Marketing here.) Although, asides from social media, another brilliant and beneficial way to gain an audience and consumers for your business, is through a fairly new technique known as Content Marketing.

Content Marketing is simply all about the content, and creating content of worth and value to a potential, clearly defined audience. It is a focus away from traditional advertising, which allows your consumers to really connect with you as a business. Content Marketing can be worked in a number of ways, including: written informative blog articles, sharing original image based content, and creating and sharing videos intended to inform your audience. The majority of these forms of Content Marketing work on a basis of being shared through Social Media Marketing, and so often the two go hand in hand.

Written Blog Articles

The written blog articles is arguably the most important way to make the best use of Content Marketing, through creating articles of interest and appeal to your desired consumer. The majority of business and brand websites have begun attaching a blog to their site, including articles based on relevant topics that will interest your audience.

Blog articles work as a way of keeping consumers accessing and engaged with your website, which allows more time for them to consider your business and brand. Also, the blog can be utilised as an interesting way to get your voice and brand ethos out to your consumer. A potential consumer will be able to recognise your brand easily, and subconsciously, consumers will connect to businesses of similar viewpoints and values to them. It works for the consumer to see your business as more humane and customer-orientated, and more than just a business and brand front. It will also assure that your business has a more reliable voice and standpoint, which will reflect positively onto your business and services offered.

Another positive and beneficial facet of Content Marketing, and particularly important for written blog articles, is that the content created will be available to access for years to come. Articles that you create today will be available to read and view on your website for years into the future, in a similar way that a consumer today can access posts that you may have uploaded a year or so ago. Also, if a consumer is attracted to one blog article on your website, they may be interested to keep clicking through and reading post archives. This means that you will engage with the consumer more, and they will appreciate your content related to your business and services. Therefore, Content Marketing, and written blog articles on your website, becomes invaluable to your business.

Although, if you are unsure about creating a blog section of your website, then consider other methods of creating written articles to share your content and information about your business. For example, many businesses utilise Email campaigns as a way of sharing original, created content. This mainly works as an Email sign up, where they share regular updates with fresh content straight to the inboxes of their Email list. This also counts as a Content Marketing campaign and strategy, although it works better to include shorter articles as the Emails, to provide a more concise, informative written article to your developed consumer base.

If you are interested in the invaluable benefits of written blog articles, but are unsure what to include in your blog content, then start off with short posts based on your business, services and products. Creating a blog on your website is a great way of communicating with your consumers, and offering them examples of how a product can be best utilised, and describing how a particular service you offer fully works. It is also a perfect way to inform your consumers of unique positives and interest points of your business, for example if your head office is based in an interesting location. Think about your business, services and products, and start creating talking points for your brand.

Creating and Sharing Original Images and Videos

If your business works on a more visual basis, or perhaps you would enjoy creating original images and videos based on your business and services, then Content Marketing is a great way to create and share. Content Marketing isn’t solely based on written articles relating to your business and brand, and creating original image and video content is an efficient, fun way to convey information and relevant details about your business.

Images are one of the top ways that gain potential consumers’ interest and attraction to a business, service or product, simply based on the fact that images are fun and eye-catching. There are two main ways that you can share relevant, creative images about your business. Firstly, you can share original images through social media, linking consumers to your various accounts, where creating fresh image content would be a great way to grab consumers’ attention. There are also certain varied visual-based social media platforms, such as Instagram, which can help promote your brand through created images.

Secondly, you can create original images to be shared on your website directly, through creating a main image-based blog. This would work well if you were a very visually based business, and you could focus more on creating and generating fresh image content, rather than basing your Content Marketing on written blog articles mainly.

However, another way to attract consumers to your business and brand in a visual way is through utilising videos and creating video Content Marketing. This is similar to images in that you can use these videos to share on both social media, as well as your own website, as unique content. Businesses and brands can also creatively utilise videos in a blogging format, in the form of a video blog, where you can convey information to your consumers and desired audience in a similar way to a written blog article.

Why Use Content Marketing?

Ultimately, Content Marketing works as the newest, most beneficial way of marketing and advertising businesses. It has adapted to provide potential consumers, and your desired audience, with relevant, valuable content that they will find interesting and engaging. It is one of the most effective ways to inform consumers about your business, services and products, and connect with them on a more personal level.

Content Marketing is built to last. A blog article, image or video content that you create today can easily be accessed years from now, and will always be related to, and bring consumers to, your business. It will attract potential new consumers in a unique way that allows your audience to feel connected to your business and brand.

Also, effectively utilising Content Marketing online, and particularly on your website, is one of the easiest, and most beneficial, ways of gaining a solid, reputable brand identity. Businesses are able to build up and form an identity through providing a voice for your brand, and supporting your brand values and ethics, which your desired audience will connect with.

Many businesses understand the many positives and benefits of Content Marketing, and how it makes huge gains for their brand awareness and all round sales. However, if you are stuck for ideas about how to create this content and best utilise this new style of marketing for your business and brand, this is where Bright Yellow Creative Group can help!

We can create fresh, interesting content, which is relevant to your business and brand values. We can develop your voice, and allow you to effectively connect with your consumers and potential desired audience. This will allow you to focus on your business alone and creating your brilliant products and service, with the ease of knowing that an effective Content Marketing strategy is in place and taken care of. Content Marketing simply needs a lot of focus and an everyday presence in order to connect with viewers successfully, and allow you to become a reputable brand. An effective Content Marketing strategy will ultimately improve your business’ services success and sales figures.

Bright Yellow Creative offers an effective, creative Content Marketing package and strategy, which will benefit your business and brand. We can create as much brand-related and brand-boosting, relevant, original content that you would like. Utilise your content creation beneficially, and allow it to work for you, creating mass brand awareness that will directly increase your consumer base. Take a look at our bespoke content marketing services here!

We will boost your brand, starting now! Contact us here today for more details!